Danny Welbeck led the line against Manchester City on Sunday with Alexis stationed on the left and Theo Walcott on the right.
He went close in the opening few minutes with a block that almost flew into the City net, and afterwards he faced the media:
- Wenger - That will help us restart
- 'I'm happy with attitude, not score'
- Welbeck - My take on the City game
on character…
I think we showed good character. We have to look at the performance and where we conceded the goals firstly, but it was great character for us to respond in the way which we did.
on their character being questioned…
At this point in the season and in the position we’re in, we know it’s not good enough for us as a club. We want to be further up the league. It wouldn’t have been good for us to lose three points again today, so we’ve dropped two. It’s something we’re going to have to build on in the next game.
on it being an edgy atmosphere…
They’re two attacking teams and two teams who want to play with the ball, to have possession of the ball. It’s going to be a cagey game in these sort of surroundings, and it was a good one for the neutrals to watch. I think for both sides, though, they both wanted to get the three points.
on whether they showed mental and physical strength…
It was a difficult game so we had to be mentally and physically strong. It’s two good offensive sides going against each other, so it’s always going to be a difficult match. I think we showed great character to come back from behind twice to get the equalisers but we really wanted to get the three points today.
on how infuriating it was to concede so soon after equalising…
It’s pretty obvious in the question itself. As soon as you score a goal and then concede, it’s not a good thing at all.
on Theo Walcott scoring five in four against City…
Theo was always a threat for us down the right. Obviously, coming inside and trying to link up with other forward players… he’s got a good record against City and got another goal today. He nearly got another one as well. It’s something for him to build upon.
on whether they should have put Jesus Navas under more pressure…
When you come up against players and they’re on a yellow card, you realise within the game and you know who to attack. We would’ve looked at that as well, and it was out there for everyone to see that he was on a yellow card. Unfortunately for us we didn’t take advantage of it.
on building momentum before the FA Cup semi-final…
We obviously want to build on our performances. The position in the league that we’re in at the moment is not good enough. It’s something we really want to improve on, so that’s what’s on our minds for the next game. It’s West Ham next so we go for that.
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